warrior godfather

Chapter 359
Evening, [-]:[-], Oracle Center.

In the locker room of the visiting team, the Celtics players are making final preparations for the game. They sit quietly in their seats, tie their shoelaces, put on their protective gear, and put on their jerseys. There is no noise and very little Someone was talking and laughing.

Tonight's game against the Warriors is the third game of the Celtics' eight consecutive away trips. Before that, they had just played two back-to-back games against the Lakers and Clippers in Los Angeles, with one win and one loss. Oakland, challenge the Warriors ranked first in the league.

The veterans of the Celtics exhausted a lot of fighting against strong enemies. Although they had a day off, their state still fluctuated obviously, and they didn't have extra energy and energy to chat.

In front of the players, Rivers carefully watched the expressions and body movements of the crowd, with a dignified expression.

The current situation of the Celtics is very bad. They only rank fifth in the Eastern Conference with a record of 22 wins and 19 losses, and there is little gap with the Magic behind them. They are only 1.5 games ahead and may be surpassed by the Magic at any time.

Not only that, but the Knicks also clung to the Magic with a difference of one win. The record gap between these two teams and the Celtics and the fourth-ranked Eagles in the Eastern Conference is very small, which can be called a four-nation melee.

No one wants to drop to seventh to play the Heat or the Bulls, and no one wants to gain home court advantage in the playoffs, so the four teams are all red-eyed, trying their best in every game, staring at the pressure on the head The team on the top wished to step on their opponents immediately and climb to the fourth position in the Eastern Conference.

The Celtics have a particularly strong desire to win. As a Big Three team that aims to compete for the championship, the top four in the Eastern Conference are the bottom line, but they are now ranked fifth in the Eastern Conference, and even fell to seventh in the Eastern Conference. Risk, this is a disgrace to the Celtics and a disgrace to the Big Three.

Although this eight-game trip is very difficult, the first three opponents are all strong teams, but if they want to break into the top four, or even hit the third ranking, the Celtics must fight for every inch of land!
Rivers folded his arms around his chest, and after scanning around, he clapped his hands vigorously to attract everyone's attention, and said solemnly:

"I don't need to say, you should also know that today must win!"

He said this categorically, and the Celtics players slowed down and looked at Rivers.

"We are the Celtics and the Big Three team. We have only one goal, and that is the championship! But now, we are only ranked fifth in the Eastern Conference, and even only 2.5 wins ahead of the Knicks. I don't know you What do I think in my heart, when I go to sleep every night, I can't fall asleep when I think of the Eastern rankings, this XX is really embarrassing!"

Rivers suddenly raised the volume:

"I know that this year is a shrinking season and everything is difficult, but that's not the reason. If you want to win the championship, you must overcome all obstacles! The Warriors are our obstacles! Tonight, beat them for me, give that group of young people Take a look! This game is the beginning of our return to the top half. There is only more than one month left in the regular season, and there is not much time left for us. Play with the attitude of playing in the playoffs. Understand?!"

Everyone nodded in unison:

"Understood, coach!"

"Kill the warrior!"

"When we won the championship, the Warriors were still last in the West. We will definitely win!"

Under the instigation of Rivers, the Celtics players gradually ignited their fighting spirit and responded eagerly.

Rivers nodded in satisfaction, took two steps forward, and stretched out his hand. Everyone understood, they all stood up, put their hands on it, and roared murderously:
"1, 2, 3—let's go, Celtics!"

The atmosphere in the locker room reached its peak at this moment, Rivers clapped his hands vigorously, and said loudly:

"Let's go, I don't need to say more about the tactics, play our own things, and let the Oracle Center become silent!"

……

"Welcome to the 42nd round of the NBA regular season brought to you by ESPN. The Warriors' home game against the Celtics. I'm Mike Breen. Mark Jackson and I will explain this game for you. Now the players from both sides have entered the arena, and the game will start soon..." Mike Breen's cadenced voice was transmitted to the ears of thousands of spectators along the radio waves.

At this time, the Oracle Center was crowded with nearly [-] spectators filling the auditorium. All kinds of voices gathered together, turning the arena into a sea of ​​noise. Headphones, too, had to raise their voices.

Beside him, sat Mark Jackson, who joined ESPN in 2006 as a commentator. After retiring in 2004, he stayed at home for a year and signed a commentary contract with ESPN. He has been working until now and has become a Very experienced narrator.

He followed Mike Brin's words:

"This is a strong matchup. The Warriors hold the No. [-] position in the league. Although the Celtics are only fourth in the Eastern Conference, the strength of the Big Three should not be underestimated. They are still popular championship teams, but the current situation is not good. , but this will instead inspire their fighting spirit and make this game more exciting."

Mike Brin nodded in agreement:
"Yes, the Celtics' fifth place in the Eastern Conference is at stake, and they are bound to do their best. Let's take a look at the starting lineups of both sides-the Warriors are still Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, Jimmy Butler, Germany. The regular starting combination of Ramond Green and Tyson Chandler, the Celtics continue to use Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce, Ray Allen, Rajon Rondo and Brandon. Bass formed a big and four small lineup, and both teams can show their full strength."

After he finished speaking extremely fast, Mark Jackson observed the situation on the court and continued:

"Garnett and Chandler came to both sides of the center line, ready to jump the ball. Garnett has been serving as the Celtics' fifth position this season. Using his excellent bounce speed, he helped the Celtics win a lot of balls. Quan, I don’t know if it will be successful this time...good! Garnett got the ball first and gave it to Rondo, and the Celtics took control of the ball for the first attack!"

On the field, after Garnett successfully jumped the ball, the Warriors quickly retreated and set up a defensive formation.

But the Celtics did not rush to attack, Rondo slowly brought the ball to the frontcourt, and the others took their positions calmly and played steadily.

These veterans will not be stupid enough to compare their speed with the Warriors.

According to Rivers' instructions, Rondo, as usual, screened and rolled Garnett at the top of the arc, and then used his cover to break through the middle.

After the formation of the Big Three, the Celtics have gone through three stages. In the first stage, relying on the powerful personal abilities of the Big Three to take turns playing singles, similar to the style of play of the Big Three by the Heat, this stage lasted until 2009.

In the second stage, Garnett was injured, his athletic ability dropped sharply, his scoring ability was far worse than before, and the cooperation of the Big Three became more and more tacit. So Rivers changed his tactics and asked Rondo to distribute the ball and give full play to his organizational ability. The Big Three performed their duties, focusing on team offense. This stage lasted until 2011.

In the third stage, starting from this season, the Celtics traded Perkins and brought in Brandon Bass. With Garnett recovering, both offensive and defensive ends are enough to fill the vacancy of the lack of an orthodox center, but the Big Three are one year older, and their personal abilities will inevitably decline. The Celtics rely more on tactical cooperation on the offensive end. The importance of many has further increased.

The pick-and-roll between him and Garnett is the Celtics' most commonly used tactical starting style.

But this time, the pick-and-roll between the two did not achieve the desired effect. When Garnett set a screen for Rondo, the Warriors immediately chose to switch defenses. Clay followed Garnett and Chandler stayed at the free throw line. Go up, let Rondo take two steps, blocking his breakthrough route.

In this way, Rondo naturally couldn't break in, but he got a wide open, and he didn't take a wide open three-pointer, but passed the ball to Garnett who was guarded without hesitation.

Rondo's 23.8% three-point shooting rate is Chandler's confidence to completely empty him.

After Garnett received the ball, the rest of the Celtics quickly pulled away to clear space for him on the strong side, and the Warriors did not change their defense, allowing Clay to keep guarding Garnett alone.

Faced with such a good opportunity, Garnett certainly wouldn't miss it. He sat back twice. Clay's confrontation was very strong, and he just took a small step back, but Garnett immediately made a turnaround jumper, a long shot. Two bullets came in.

2: 0.

Mike Breen said:

"Yes! Garnett succeeded in singles against Clay. Clay's lower body strength is very strong, and he withstood Garnett's back. But Garnett is not a player who likes to sit at the basket and then shoot. Solving the battle in the middle distance, Clay is not tall enough to cause any interference to him."

The round transition, the Warriors attacked, and Curry quickly dribbled the ball across the half. Although the Celtics returned to defense quickly after scoring a goal without leaving any holes, Curry chose to take the initiative to speed up the pace.

He kept in mind what Zhang Yu said before the game - "Get moving, speed up our speed, it's good to be faster by a second, drag them down!"

So after halftime, Curry didn't delay for a moment and passed the ball directly to Butler.

Mike Brin watched Curry's movements and sped up his speech:
"Curry passed halftime, passed the ball to Butler, and the others pulled away. Butler singled out Pierce-the breakthrough failed! Pierce blocked Butler's impact with experience, but Butler didn't fight anymore. He chose to take two steps Pull-up jump shot - missed by Pierce!"

Bang!

The basketball bounced out of the basket, and the Celtics' penalty area was instantly chaotic. The inside players of both sides crowded together, and you fought for each other. In the end, the Warriors' inside duo was better. Chandler stuck behind Gane. Special, Green overwhelmed Brandon Bass and grabbed an offensive rebound.

On the sidelines, Rivers sighed helplessly when he saw Green grab a rebound over Brandon Bass.

The future CBA star is still an excellent power forward who averaged 12.5 points per game in the NBA, but his rebounding ability has always been poor.

Brandon Bass, as an inside player, has a very poor rebounding rate of 11.2%, which is almost inferior to Pierce, who is not good at rebounding. It is soft to a certain extent.

Green is also very aware of the opponent's characteristics. After he grabbed the rebound, he didn't intend to pass the ball at all. He jumped up on the spot and overwhelmed Brandon Bass. With a relatively stiff posture, he made a small throw and scored.

2: 2.

"Andwan!"

After the goal, Green yelled at the referee at the bottom line, but the referee at the bottom line was indifferent, and he could only retreat to the backcourt angrily.

But his "tough" performance won a burst of applause, which is the same as Garnett's "iron-blooded jumper". If it is big enough, the goal will be iron-blooded. If the performance is very calm, then the goal is obviously not tough enough.

Green also discovered the trick. As long as he scored in the paint, he would yell "Andewan" at the referee. With his expression full of displeasure, an inexperienced young referee might really suspect that his eyes were It's not a problem, no one touched him, why is he so angry, could it be that he was really fouled in a place where I can't see?
Looking back, the Celtics continued to play Rondo and Garnett's pick-and-roll, and the Warriors switched defenses immediately. This time Rondo hesitated and chose to challenge Chandler's defense, but Chandler reserved two Rondo failed to break through, made a long two-point shot, hit an iron, and the rebound was protected by Green.

He slapped the ball forward, strode forward, and tried to counterattack, but the Celtics retreated very quickly and did not give the Warriors a chance to break fast. Green could only slow down and pass the ball Curry.

Mike Breen said:

"When Rondo made a shot, the Celtics chose to return to defense. This is a smart choice. If they are a step slower, they will be chased by the Warriors. The Warriors are the best team in the league. one."

Mark Jackson nodded and said:

"It seems that Rivers thought very clearly. When Garnett appeared in the high position, the Celtics completely lost the ability to fight for offensive rebounds. Their offense is a one-shot deal. If you go in, you can score. If you don't go in, you can score. There is no chance of a second attack, it is better to retreat directly, so that at least the defense can be guaranteed."

On the court, the Warriors lost the opportunity to counterattack and could only continue to attack the position.

Curry, as before, threw the ball to Butler casually, and ran to the weak side to open up space for Butler.

Butler singled out Pierce. He first changed direction in front of his body, handed the ball to his left hand, and then took a drag step. He suddenly turned to the right and made a breakthrough on the right. However, he was seen through by the experienced Pierce and blocked the breakthrough route.

Butler didn't panic either. He turned around one after another and came to the left side of Pierce. At the same time, he compressed his position, created a shooting space, and shot a fallback jumper.

brush!
The basketball went into the net hollow, 4:2.

Mike Breen said:

"Yes! Butler turned around and hit a fadeaway jumper. He didn't break through Pierce's defense, but he was faster and jumped higher than Pierce. Pierce couldn't interfere with his fadeaway jumper at all!"

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(End of this chapter)